Chapter 181 – The Visit
When the teacher, the Holy Spirit King, arrived, Jiang Zhe bowed respectfully. "Master, this disciple was incompetent, and in the end, had to trouble you to come out of seclusion."
The Holy Spirit King smiled and shook her head. "It's nothing. I've sat too long in meditation in Chaos City without any breakthrough. I was just thinking of moving around a bit. Better to go with you and see the paths of heart cultivation on Earth. Perhaps it might help refine my will and give me a chance to break through to the Sovereign realm."
"Master, I've already had a palace built for you. All the philosophical classics of Earth have been collected into the palace library. I hope they'll offer you some insight."
"Very good." The Holy Spirit King gave a small nod.
"Oh right," she continued, "when we return this time, it's about time for you to settle down as well. Have you found anyone suitable?"
She affectionately ruffled Jiang Zhe's hair and teased, "Shall I summon the outstanding juniors of our clan to hold a consort selection for you?"
Then she shook her head. "No, too troublesome. I'll just send them all to you. The capable should shoulder more responsibility. Be sure to carry on our bloodline."
"Cough… Master, my junior brother is here. Let's set out for Earth first."
Jiang Zhe cleared his throat awkwardly, unable to endure the pressure of being urged to marry.
Just then, Luo Feng arrived with Dylan. Jiang Zhe quickly grabbed this lifeline to change the subject.
Judging by how his master and his father acted the same way, Jiang Zhe guessed he wouldn't have much peace on Earth.
The Holy Spirit King narrowed her eyes in amusement as she watched Jiang Zhe greet Luo Feng, her expression like that of a worried mother watching her foolish son.
Jiang Zhe introduced Luo Feng and Dylan to pay respects to the Holy Spirit King.
Luo Feng in particular was very respectful, fully aware of the agreement they had signed.
—From now on, the well-being of Earth's people would largely depend on the Holy Spirit King's protection.
The weak had no right to speak of dignity!
Only a Universe Lord could truly uphold the honor of their lineage and redeem Earth's standing. This was beyond dispute.
In that moment, the seed of Luo Feng's desire to grow stronger sprouted even more vigorously.
The group boarded Jiang Zhe's newly purchased ship, the Jade Tiger, and left Wuchen Space-Time. After half a day traversing the Dark Universe, they exited the territory of the Primal Secret Realm.
Then, the Holy Spirit King summoned a Marquis-level slave to open a God Country teleportation.
On the surface of an unnamed mining planet five light-years from the Solar System, a dazzling light suddenly flared. A dark purple triangular spaceship materialized out of thin air.
"Your Highnesses, we've arrived in the Milky Way. We're less than five light-years from the Solar System."
Bermington requested Jiang Zhe activate the external view of the ship, then pointed to the projection of a massive floating port spanning millions of square kilometers outside.
"This is a God Country transit station established by Virtual Universe Company. In the future, to protect Earth, no direct God Country teleportation will be allowed within a ten-light-year diameter of the Solar System. Ships will have to use this station as a transfer point."
"Previously, the Dark Universe coordinates within a thousand light-years were concealed by Mr. Hu Yanbo's spatial secret arts. When Virtual Universe Company began remodeling the Solar System, they lifted that concealment..."
After this brief introduction, the Jade Tiger accelerated to light speed, performed a short Dark Universe hop, and emerged above Earth.
They activated the external visuals.
Gazing at the blue planet in the projection, Jiang Zhe's heart surged with countless emotions. "From July 12th, 2071 of the Hanxia Calendar to March 23rd, 2285... I, Jiang Zhe, have returned once more to this land I so deeply cherish!"
Even though it wasn't his true homeland…
But emotions couldn't be ignored. His real homeland was forever lost to him.
Earth, where the Jiang family now lived, was his home.
The Jade Tiger engaged optical cloaking and descended into the atmosphere.
The two King-level slaves stationed on Earth sensed their arrival and concealed themselves, trailing the ship.
They first sent Luo Feng back to Yangzhou City.
Through his senses, Jiang Zhe saw Luo Feng and Dylan land, put on sunglasses, and go for a "disguised visit" around the city, which made him shake his head and laugh.
He would soon head to Lanling City, and had no such leisure.
Now, the Jiang family only kept a manor there as an ancestral hall. The patriarch and second-generation elders resided there permanently, while the third generation and below mainly developed on the North American continent.
What fun would a disguised visit be?
Moreover, the management of Lanling City had already been handed over to Hanxia authorities to minimize the Jiang family's presence there.
Under Jiang Lie's stewardship, the family still adhered to a philosophy of keeping a low profile, operating from the shadows. They promoted martial arts worldwide under the banner of the "Chuanwu Hall."
As for the younger generations:
Those with talent for cultivation were selected and sent into secret realms for closed training, advancing to the star-level before studying deeper in the universe.
Those with business acumen joined Jiang Wen, head of the third generation, in the Lei Emperor Group, focusing on energy and machinery. This company, holding the mechanical race's immortal technological legacy and with Oriana frequently updating its tech, thrived in the Qianwu Universe Nation.
As for those content to idle away, they received a standard annual stipend to live on family-owned life planets. If they wanted children and were willing to take responsibility, they'd apply to temporarily reside on Earth.
Thanks to Oriana, who controlled a split consciousness overseeing the Jiang family, everything ran smoothly.
Under her watch, there was no chance of scandals like the Luo family's.
In fact, every Jiang family member's AI assistant was linked to Oriana like the mechanical race, simultaneously surveillance and protection.
All for Jiang Zhe and the Jiang family's interests.
"Jiang Zhe, I see the palace you built for me. That sacred, elegant church — you Earthlings call it... Baroque architecture? I'm quite pleased. If there's no pressing matter, I'll begin my secluded cultivation there."
Before her words finished, Jiang Zhe sensed a spatial ripple behind him. His master had already teleported away.
Lanling City, outskirts, Jiang family estate
Nearly 200 years ago, the manor was rebuilt on the original site, preserving most old structures while adding new walls around the grounds.
Roughly 0.9 kilometers long and 0.5 wide, it spanned over 450,000 square meters, less than 700 acres.
The manor had no human servants, all replaced by Grade-C bionic attendants. Normally only the patriarch and the second and third generations came and went, giving the place a quiet air.
But today was different. Nearly thirty family members gathered in the main courtyard.
Two massive "black bears" paced back and forth, dizzying to watch. Even the old patriarch, Jiang Lie, couldn't stand it. He smacked the larger one with his cane and threw a bronze censer at the smaller one.
"Settle down, you two! We were all happy, and now you've made me irritable with your pacing!"
The "black bears" shrank their heads, embarrassed, then sheepishly handed the cane and censer back to the old man.
Just then, a warm, spring-like voice sounded.
"Second Brother, Nephew — I come back only to see Grandfather beating you two. What a unique welcome! My suggestion: we should do this more often."
Everyone's faces lit up in delight, turning toward the courtyard gate.
There stood a handsome young man in a dark blue robe. At some point, he had silently arrived.
In a blink, he was among them.
"Little Zhe, you're back."
"Welcome home, Little Zhe!"
"Finally! Little Zhe, meeting in the virtual universe is nothing like reality. It's been over two centuries — we missed you so much!"
"Third Brother, welcome home."
"Third Uncle, welcome home."
Jiang Wu and his son were especially overjoyed. Their massive "bear bodies" blocked Jiang Zhe from both sides and crashed into him.
"Haha, you brat, finally decided to come back! If you visited more often, I wouldn't mind getting beaten by the old man every time."
"Exactly, Uncle. If you stayed home every day, my father could get smacked daily for all I care — he's thick-skinned anyway."
So Jiang Zhe found himself pinned under two "koalas," half amused, half helpless.
Jiang Yuan Yi, this little bear cub, truly was a filial son.
He was the Jiang family's first fourth-generation member. Jiang Zhe had watched him grow up, born with a 13-fold brain domain capacity and natural talent as a spirit reader. Before Jiang Zhe left Earth, this cub was nearly an adult, strongly resembling his father.
Jiang Zhe thought that now, he wasn't even the youngest of the third generation anymore. This cub should stop calling him "Old Uncle."
Hearing it gave him an ominous feeling, like something bad might happen — maybe the next outworld trial mission would go terribly wrong?
The little "koala" shook Jiang Zhe vigorously, eyes bright. "Old Uncle, it's been over two hundred years — you haven't forgotten what you promised me, right?"
"Of course not. But first let go. Third Uncle has a gift for you." Jiang Zhe deliberately stressed "Third Uncle."
The two-century-old cub's eyes spun, glaring at his father. "Father, let go of Third Uncle. Don't you see how exhausted he is from traveling? How can you burden him further?"
Jiang Wu's eyes bulged: ???
Meanwhile Jiang Yuan Yi had already climbed off, rubbing his hands expectantly.
"You've chosen the path of the spirit reader?" Jiang Zhe asked.
"Third Uncle, your insight is divine. You're my idol — of course I'll follow in your footsteps to become a powerful controller."
Jiang Zhe shook his head, smiling. He extended his right index finger, a faint blue light blooming at the tip, then lightly tapped it against Jiang Yuan Yi's forehead.
"You rascal! Well, your gift is already given. As for when you'll receive it — that's up to fate."
Jiang Yuan Yi touched his forehead, feeling something merge within. He couldn't grasp it, only sensing a coolness spreading through his mind.
His spiritual power surged, the coolness soothing his restless heart.
He exchanged a look with his father, then saw in Jiang Wu's eyes a faint blue "ice ring" now marking his own forehead.
"Third Uncle, what is this? It's amazing!"
Jiang Zhe just smiled. "When you reach the World Lord realm and gain recognition from the source laws, you'll understand."
Then, patting Jiang Yuan Yi's shoulder, he turned to the eager eyes of his other younger kin.
A voice quietly reached Jiang Yuan Yi's mind:
"Don't show it off. Hide the mark later. It's a protective treasure, a foundation for advancement — but also a cause for mortal danger."
It was a "Cooling Pearl," a top-tier treasure.
Jiang Zhe was especially fond of his first junior relative. Of course, it helped that Jiang Yuan Yi had great talent, a fine character, and unceasing diligence in cultivation… With such resources, why let his juniors suffer?
Jiang Yuan Yi kept his expression neutral, rubbed the ice ring innocently, then wiped it away.
Having gifted Jiang Yuan Yi, Jiang Zhe wouldn't neglect the others.
"Haha, everyone gets something. Come here one by one — let me see the new generation of our Jiang family."
Those eager eyes belonged to his cousins, nieces, and nephews. Oriana knew them all well, long having prepared the perfect gifts for each.
Worth noting, none were Jiang Zhe's own siblings; he was still the sole direct line of his branch.
"Back home at last, that's all that matters…" The old patriarch watched his joyous family, deeply gratified.
That evening, they went to the North American estate for a family banquet.
Jiang Zhe found that their family genealogy, which began with a special page for his grandfather, now listed down to the fifteenth generation.
Their numbers had grown exponentially — nearly terrifying.
Nearly twenty thousand family members attended the banquet.
And that wasn't all.
Only those with value came: either cultivation geniuses or business prodigies. No wastrels were allowed into the inner circle.
The old patriarch proposed holding a grand banquet in the virtual universe for the entire family, but Jiang Zhe waved it off repeatedly.
Seeing so many named Jiang made him dizzy…
To be honest, aside from his direct nephews and nieces, he felt little connection to the rest.
After the banquet, Jiang Zhe returned to his old courtyard, sitting in the study staring blankly at a Daoist scripture.
It wasn't until late at night that he reached out to Oriana in his mind.
"During our renovations on Earth before the Virtual Universe Company moved in, did we find that metal plate I mentioned?"
"Master, it was discovered long ago — by the Luo family's engineering team," Oriana replied. "At the time, I still had an avatar on Earth, overseeing mining robots. I watched it get sent straight into the Luo family's treasure vault."
Jiang Zhe chuckled. "Heh, so this is fate?"
"The Nine Tribulations Secret Codex…"
He clicked his tongue. "If it weren't a one-time item, I'd really want to see how it compares to the Life Blueprint."
"The Life Blueprint alters a being's race, raising genetic level while bestowing new innate secret arts…"
"The Nine Tribulations Secret Codex works on all flesh-based life. The better your foundation, the greater the multiplied gains. As a human, even after nine tribulations, your gene multiplier is only 768. But for a Golden-Horned Beast or the Nine Nether Sea, it's monstrous…"
"If I used it myself, just the first two tribulations would perfect my genes — but what's the point?"
"For me, it'd be icing on the cake. For Luo Feng, it's everything. Without it, he's finished…"
The next day.
Luo Feng sent an email, asking when Jiang Zhe would visit the Qianwu Division.
Jiang Zhe replied: "Tomorrow. Send invitations to the three ministers in advance so they can prepare."
Author's Notes:
Choosing "Lanling City" simply because it sounded nice — don't overthink it.
I can't accept tech-based asexual reproduction.
Remember:
Earth means little to humanity as a whole — too small. How many can actually come here to have children?
But to Universe Lord families, it's immensely valuable. They can easily send clansmen to Earth, nurturing more geniuses.
Every Universe Lord fights for their own faction's interests, none willing to relinquish Earth.
So, Jiang Zhe and Luo Feng reclaiming Earth's sovereignty is essentially competing against all human Universe Lords for profit.
And without being a Universe…
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